In short
Podcast Summary: Unblinded with Sean Callagy
Episode Title
From Disney to TikTok: Kevin Mayer on Vision, Innovation & The Future Of AI
Episode Description In this episode, Sean Callagy interviews Kevin Mayer, a significant figure in modern media leadership. Kevin shares insights about his journey from engineering to transformative roles at Disney and TikTok, discussing how companies can anticipate disruptions, the importance of brands in a world of infinite choices, and the strategic decisions that shaped his career, including major acquisitions and the launch of Disney+. The conversation serves as a masterclass in courage, humility, ecosystem thinking, and long-term vision.
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Key Highlights
- The Importance of Brands:
- Brands serve as decision-making shortcuts in a saturated content environment.
- In a world of infinite choices, only high-quality brands survive.
- Strategic Acquisitions at Disney:
- Kevin discusses the rationale behind Disney's acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, emphasizing the focus on creating ecosystems rather than just individual IPs.
- Disruption and Innovation:
- Companies must be willing to cannibalize their successes to embrace the future (i.e., Disney+).
- Kevin stresses the courage required to disrupt one's own business model before being forced to do so by market changes.
- The Launch of Disney+:
- Disney+ was a bold move that involved significant financial investment and risk, yet it resulted in explosive subscriber growth and reshaped the streaming landscape.
- Transition to TikTok:
- Kevin reflects on his decision to step into the role of CEO at TikTok amidst national security concerns and the challenges of leading a global platform.
- Future of AI and Decision-Making:
- Discussion on the role of AI in influencing consumer behavior and how companies must adapt to leverage technological advancements.
- Avoiding Single Points of Failure:
- Kevin shares his philosophy on career diversification and the importance of building multiple avenues for success.
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Timestamps & Chapter Breakdown
- 00:00 – 02:00 Introduction and early background
- 02:00 – 05:30 From aspiring naval pilot to engineer and strategist
- 05:30 – 09:30 Technology’s role in reshaping Disney
- 09:30 – 13:30 Mediocre content and the demise of Blockbuster
- 13:30 – 18:30 The significance of brands in a world of infinite choice
- 18:30 – 22:30 The Pixar acquisition and Steve Jobs’ influence
- 22:30 – 27:30 Building ecosystems, not just IP
- 27:30 – 33:30 Cannibalizing profits for future success with Disney+
- 33:30 – 38:30 Launching Disney+ and rapid subscriber growth
- 38:30 – 43:30 Transition to TikTok and the challenges faced
- 43:30 – 48:30 National security concerns regarding AI and TikTok
- 48:30 – 52:30 Career diversification to avoid failure
- 52:30 – 57:30 Building modern media studios with Candle Media
- 57:30 – 1:03:00 AI, agentic systems, and future implications
- 1:03:00 – 1:10:30 Leadership, humility, and long-term thinking
- 1:10:30 – 1:13:30 Final reflections and closing thoughts
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Standout Quotes
- “In a world of infinite choice, only the highest-quality brands survive.”
- “The hardest thing for a company to do is disrupt a business that’s still profitable.”
- “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”
- “There’s no shortcut to success—it’s still about doing the hard work.”
- “Avoid single points of failure, in business and in life.”
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Conclusion This episode of Unblinded offers vital insights into leadership, innovation, and the importance of adaptability in business. Kevin Mayer's journey illustrates that true leadership is not about holding onto what works but having the courage to reinvent and innovate. This conversation serves as an essential guide for anyone looking to create enduring success in their career or business.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOKevin's Early Life and Education
1:06 to 2:30
Kevin discusses his background, family, and education path.
“And that's why we don't actually be so special.”
Transitioning into Business
2:30 to 4:28
Kevin shares his journey from engineering to business leadership.
“But I had a journey, which is very unusual, I would say, to open Bethesda Marley, and I intended to be an Indian guy.”
Joining Disney and Early Challenges
4:28 to 6:40
Kevin reflects on his time at Disney and the challenges faced in entertainment.
“there's a big other thing to say about it.”
Navigating Technological Changes
6:40 to 8:36
Discussion on how technology impacted Disney and the entertainment industry.
“Blavitt, you can't necessarily just come out in the browser and the old live web is, you know, a classic marketplace, but entertainment companies could take a time ago.”
The Importance of Innovation
8:36 to 11:21
Kevin emphasizes the need for innovation in response to market changes.
“And the one thing we didn't know, what was the 11th decision between and how do you communicate?”
The Future of Media and Consumer Choices
11:21 to 14:00
Insights into the future of media and the significance of brand quality.
“And in New America, I mean, it's this magical world of like, oh, you pick your ride times and everybody keeps on doing and optimizing.”
The Evolving Media Landscape
14:00 to 15:00
Explore the changing dynamics of media and the importance of high-quality content.
“of the time and place and the vice of the industry.”
Brands and Consumer Choices
15:00 to 17:00
Learn why brands play a crucial role in consumer decision-making.
“That's how consumers decide what to buy, what to participate in, what to become, is through brands.”
Disney's Strategic Acquisitions
17:00 to 19:00
Discover the strategic acquisitions Disney made to enhance its brand portfolio.
“Bob and I, we had a, Bob I was first board meeting as CEO, just again, for my guys.”
The Importance of Animation
19:00 to 21:00
Understand the significance of animation in Disney's evolution and brand strategy.
“And, in fact, in that 90 day period, we all decided that not only did we not take over Pixar, and Pixar would take over Disney's trade.”
Show all 33 chapters
Navigating the Future of Entertainment
21:00 to 23:00
Explore how Disney adapts to changes in consumer preferences and technology.
“And you need to offer to be, that's important, very important.”
Disney's Brand Management
23:00 to 25:00
Learn about Disney's approach to managing and optimizing its brands.
“So you're like in this place for that day and people are like, oh I saw Batman.”
Innovations in Disney Plus
25:00 to 27:00
Discover the innovations and strategies driving Disney Plus's success.
“In fact, from the large Disney Plus, the biggest star we've had to do by the Star Wars, is the Mandalorian.”
Disney's Strategic Evolution
28:00 to 29:00
Learn about Disney's strategic approach in the entertainment landscape.
“They knew that the well-design company could make better use and make it better consumers based on a server that calls all the different fossils out of entertainment.”
The Challenge of Licensing and Streaming
29:00 to 31:20
Explore the transition from licensing to direct streaming services.
“And one doesn't make this much money as we can, out of all the properties involved.”
The Decision to Launch Disney Plus
31:20 to 33:50
Understand the high-stakes decision-making process behind Disney Plus.
“But we should miss a lot more money ultimately, ultimately, after a long period of investment, we should miss a lot more money by doing our own streaming service.”
Building Disney Plus: From Concept to Reality
33:50 to 36:00
Discover the development and launch strategies for Disney Plus.
“You get through public announcements and this is one of the biggest ones you need.”
The Initial Success of Disney Plus
36:00 to 37:30
Examine the initial launch success and subscriber growth of Disney Plus.
“We thought we'd get maybe 69 subscribers in five years.”
Navigating Brand Value and Market Position
37:30 to 42:00
Learn how Disney navigated brand value and competition with rivals.
“but they're like, the only ones you've read at the time.”
Transition from Disney to TikTok
42:00 to 43:50
Kevin Mayer discusses his transition from Disney to TikTok and the challenges faced.
“to be interested in by the board with myself, and again, about children, about children.”
Challenges at TikTok
43:50 to 45:50
Mayer addresses the challenges TikTok faced, particularly regarding data security and national security concerns.
“No, no, which I was doing, because I loved Disney.”
AI and User Data
45:50 to 48:10
Exploration of how TikTok utilizes AI to analyze user data and the implications of this technology.
“This is how it's, you know, because they're on the bus and they're just in the air.”
Navigating Corporate Challenges
48:10 to 51:10
Mayer shares insights on navigating corporate governance and decision-making at TikTok.
“I can't remember how that reconfigured it now, at least one.”
Building a New Media Ecosystem
51:10 to 53:00
Discussion on Mayer's vision for a new media ecosystem and the importance of distribution channels.
“I decided at the time that I wanted to have a multiple custody of things about a deal, that would be useful.”
Innovations in Content Distribution
53:00 to 56:00
Mayer discusses innovations in content distribution, particularly through platforms like Disney Plus.
“Before studios could sell their worlds to any of their bodies.”
The Rise of Blippi and Its Impact
56:00 to 56:40
Learn about the success of Blippi and its transition to different platforms.
“I've heard of Blippi's other more IQs that we're on the app.”
Kevin Mayer's Visionary Insights
56:40 to 1:00:40
Explore Kevin Mayer's insights on innovation and building ecosystems.
“So we took those videos on YouTube, took maybe not just three one-hour episodes, and we licensed it to Netflix, streaming shows.”
The Integrity Operating System Explained
1:00:40 to 1:03:00
Understand the concept of the Integrity Operating System and its applications.
“Where do you see the greatest opportune?”
Discussions on Future of AI and Investments
1:03:00 to 1:10:03
Delve into discussions about AI's future and the potential for investment.
“Would you be open to a deeper conversation about what's truly new here?”
Navigating Self-Funding and Investment
1:10:03 to 1:10:54
Explore the dynamics of self-funding and investment in startups.
“Literally, we are, and we're, you know, by the time, if you know that by now, also self-funded, you know, investors are a shareholder.”
The Importance of Integrity in Business
1:10:54 to 1:12:14
Discusses the role of integrity and courage in business success.
“is we're always looking at the opportunities for this little step for a living in this life.”
The Survival Brain Insight
1:12:14 to 1:12:39
Understanding how our survival instincts can mislead us in business.
“It should be a really good reason for it.”
Emotional Challenges in Business
1:12:39 to 1:13:41
Highlights the emotional aspects and challenges faced in business scenarios.
“and his hope, and his and his job, he's alive as far as survival brain.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:12各市民的若争 I'm going to be drinking you. I have a ton of beer. I haven't kept calling from your clients. And I obviously want to. That's not a hard thing to do. Yeah, you guys, you guys need to do this. Here's a big of a today. Yep. Thank you. I'm going to be a sportsman. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:39Thank you.
1:05So, Kevin, thank you so much for being here. And it's not a rich tribe. Sorry. Where are you from originally? Great Holes tribe. I'm from Maryland. And that's why we don't actually be so special. Maryland? I don't know. I don't know. I'm from Bethesda. Maryland? I did. Great. So I started an interview. My children, two of my three children went to the University of Maryland. And I was in Bethlehem. And I thought it was great. Now it was. Right? Let's talk about it. And they had Kermit the tribe that my daughter was a, my daughter's commencement speaker. And I had Kermit did a business job to see you all about.
1:35Kermit was the, to make this speaker, Kermit the Frog was the, to make this speaker, and that's a super sign of your account. Massive, massive resistance. You know, we're to customize division and upset and great college campuses. And it was Kermit the Frog is a throwaway, and University of Maryland had to avoid these and their issues, and this was what everyone said. I think Kermit the Frog spoke, received three standardizations, and not a dry eye in the house, when Kermit ended three-wheel catching and the entire place set up at the end of the night. So, yes, yes. And this is not not your life journey of impacting humans and raising the heart of the body.
2:21So, how do you go from amazing business to Maryland to the world of changing the busy and media aspects? So, in America, we're just hoping to take for each type of your journey. But I had a journey, which is very unusual, I would say, to open Bethesda Marley, and I intended to be an Indian guy. That's why I wanted to do that in my life. So I wanted to go to New York Library, you know, learn how to fly, learn about the rock stories, learn your paper and the straws, you had all the problems and beans that you bought, so that means you can't really, really, really good ideas. I looked at him and he took the kids that didn't really sound like he had to rest my physical.
3:04And my husband went to the hospital. So I was in without James. He offered me to be on submarine, so he wouldn't do that. That seems scary to be, you know, my own aviation. So I'm not going to Boston with school. So the engineering intended to be in Europe. My own wife, I was designing a railroad system for ADL, I'm not sure if you're working with a special education, which I did for about five years. And I helped them get me, enjoying that, and deciding to become a plus executive. Also I had one deciding to do it, from what could be applied to a plus executive, went back to business school, went back to Ballsley Business School.
3:43And I wasn't so sure, I wasn't a business school bus in Harvard. Yeah, that's right, yeah. You each thought of Gnosis. I thought it would be a word saying that because it didn't make this one. No, no, it's not Gnosis. I said Gnosis. No, I gave Gnosis. I said Gnosis to be clear because I went to Columbia. And so when you would play Harvard Business Group. Yeah. And I was captain of the baseball team. And when you would play at Harvard, your fine friends would change. Senior senior school. Senior senior school. Senior senior school. So yes, we were the safety school of Harvard, and congratulations.
4:24Come back to me again. Right? Columbia was a great school, so. Yeah, you guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, there's a big other thing to say about it. Yeah, but that's awesome. First of all, I was really good at doing business school. I made a big transition, because I knew nothing about business. I didn't know, honestly, I didn't know, you know, where the piano was. I really didn't know about business. I was a very technical engineer. And of course, designing radar systems and signal processes and also the software being for military aircraft, or I can dial them, I can design the AVR next year.
4:58I went to the school and had some questions. You know, do I really want to go back and get cases? I'm kidding. So I wanted to go back to the different storage farm industry, but I wanted to do something else to start. And there's four of my options in the general way. So I went into some cell phone, there's a lot of people doing. They asked me some cell phone. and just wanted to try to keep my options open. Since optionality is a good thing, keep in mind when you're doing it for real, or missing any decisions. Trying to keep as many options open as you can, and before you make the definitive choice, is that I think you have that, and I did think that she's not there.
5:32So I did that, I wanted to see my options open, and I wanted to get she's open, and one of us from us was the World Disney Company, and he's talking about this. So I went and worked for business, and, you know, did general surprise for that. And I had to go, making all this pretty cool. And this is about the early 90s, and probably, you know, but the early 90s, technology was just between the same for entertainment. And it hadn't been affected by any big technological or issues before, and I remember that, maybe you know, it's a little bit, since the last week, I'll say that that has happened.
6:09And it was an interesting moment for me. I could bring my technical expertise as an engineer out to an attorney company. And so I became a strategist. I think it was self-reliant for you, a little strategist. It was not me. I think it's still set. I think I'll see around corners. I can somehow have an intuition about how technology might impact businesses. And so I became a strategist for business in terms of public, how technology is and the business had to navigate the World Disney Company through these technological systems. To be one of them, Mr. Blavitt, you can't necessarily just come out in the browser and the old live web is, you know, a classic marketplace, but entertainment companies could take a time ago.
6:53So I was very busy, you know, getting out of time and watching all the different, you know, these, and I'm probably going to be as big as the time, maybe seeing anything else. So I was the internet guy and just eventually got it. And as I was with Michael Eisenman, he went to the end, and he had a family there. He was a very expert executive. He understood the entertainment and business. He intersectionated the entertainment business that he could be in the room I'd never met before. But he was not a technology focused guy. He was kind of a big attention. He had a guitar in the game, which had his last students were in 2005, about 16 years later.
7:31So technology could make a huge impact. There's about a huge, big impact on the entertainment industry. So here's a place that Bob Iger is now still CEO of Disney. And I became the two-shot as an officer at Disney, working at Bob Iger. And he set out to redefine Disney in the image, to identify mobile communications, digitization of internet delivery of video, how we stop by screaming that we all know. And we thought about how are we going to reposition business in the future. A future that was actually unknown. No one knew what technology was going to do. Traditional behavior, team, well, team, how productive, to the industry seemed to know that.
8:20This is completely out of nature. We did not know what was going to happen. So we had some study sessions. What did he do? So if we operate Disney in the future, what are the key acquisitions that we have made to future personal Disney company? And the one thing we didn't know, what was the 11th decision between and how do you communicate? Well, I think there are two things. One is that the new applications that have been replaced the restrictions in terms of accessing content was not disappeared. You didn't have to go back, back in 2005, So you'd be famous for Blockbuster's. We were famous for Blockbuster's.
9:01So you actually, this is hard to be a little bit more. I'm thinking, think back. You were watching music. You were not consulting Blockbuster when Netflix said, hey, they want to apply this. I would imagine that they had not been working with you. Is that fair? That's correct. Yes. And I think things made very differently from Blockbuster. Is that fair, Trevor? That is fair. That is fair. But Blockbuster, because I was, So it's exhausting to leave your house, get in a car, drive to a blockbuster store, try to write the video. You know, the videos that you really wanted were all party-keeping. You know, something limited to elsewhere.
9:37So again, 10 directions or whatever movie you want to ask, is it movie at the time? So what did you do? You got the second best movie. You know, movie, you never wrote a book before, you used a tweet, because that's all that was available. So these are huge restrictions in being a complex structure. And back then, media protection had value. And I said, that's what they said, that's what they said. They had to use it. And that, I want to say right there, I call a couple of good news for the audience. So for everyone, this is a commitment, you know, rubbish will be in which one talks about the power of commitment and consistency.
10:08So all these people, at some level, even including me, but we all have commitment and consistency development. So we need an air collection of helping. And then the 50 miles is, it takes less weight and it takes time. It takes reconditioning. So Blockbuster is sitting there and that other completely sound. Not any different people who work dragging things around the ground and this unit had created some circular thing called the wheel. So it's obviously too much difficulty. This isn't going to break. All this thread around the ground. So Blockbuster, this made me consistent, so it's like nobody's ever going to stop coming to here.
10:43It's a family shared experience. You come, you get kids, you go in, you get things out. and then you're back up more. Nobody's in fact going for this shared experience. All have control and tracking by the work, but we're always wrong. Because every technological innovation, which is essentially not a self-dustration major loss, but the technology of the formula, of influence, and as you pass yourself, all these technologies are basically, ah, that's not the right word, what are you talking about, does it do it? Right? And of course, it's in time around, because when you have your computer, you have your computer, you have your computer, you have your computer, And eventually people excel when they post-style to the final final.
11:21You know, we know, we were five years old, I was very four years old, we sort of, you know, both did some of the Disney's and made the stories, I'm just using the ad to say, love Disney, but with any decision that you made, you know, a poetic look like, love Disney. And in New America, I mean, it's this magical world of like, oh, you pick your ride times and everybody keeps on doing and optimizing. You go through, you know, this magic bag on your wrist. So you're buying the doors now like four, buying things in a magic band or, oh, we'll just do it, what's$6 ,000, you don't get out of it, you know, it's like, no, no, everything, every door.
11:53You know, but it's a magical experience of your ride homes. Everything is a completely different world of cutting, that's a great job, really, too, massively, of limiting friction. And that's the job of all of us is to eliminate friction and create value. Even 50 is as a masterful as anyone is at. And you say, sharp and moist, sharp and elicit, that's the conversation line. But the decision of friction, the play and value, and the people that you're dealing with, they don't even realize they have friction. Blockbuster became so comfortable, so ego-driven in their own reality, that they didn't perceive it to be friction, they ran out of movies, because there was no other choice until that sort of spoke about a business.
12:35And pause, but future. That's exactly correct, so I know these are very well. So it's hard if you're in a public in your business to understand the regulations that are about to happen to you. Now even if you do it, so the whole business is going to be a little bit. You know, if you're in a business and you see something coming, and you're not going to continue to disrupt your business, it's hard to do it in action that you can possibly do that. I'll tell you in a minute how Bob I did, but you had a business, you had Bob I did that. Because you have an efficient, profitable business, then the last thing you want to do is disrupt it.
13:07So you have other people disrupt their business, and you end up losing. And as opposed to courage, your conviction can actually disrupt yourself. You know, you have enough foresight, and you can enough certain business say, I know my business is at risk, but what I'm doing is, is it going to work any longer? I have to go take action myself. To go, the golden use that I have now, to get the other golden use done, is a very, very different thing to do. Most of our trading companies haven't done it, most companies haven't done it. We did a different experience, we explained it remotely how it does it.
13:39So these frictions existed and we decided that the internet should be aware of all that. We knew it. We didn't know how or when. I thought it wasn't even in Benjamin, we were making these decisions. It was 2005. But we did know one thing. Consumer choices going to be infinite because those restrictions were going to disappear. Anything tried as made ever by any entertainment company was going to be available. of the time and place and the vice of the industry. We didn't know why, we didn't know how, but we knew it was going to happen in the future. And we also knew, because of that dynamic, that media content is just a high value decision.
14:16We didn't like to drop this, that grace trust wasn't available, it was called priority, everyone else's free ticket out. This media for product is going to be up, it's going to become eliscerated. No more value than mediocrity. So only the highest quality product with the market in the future. So, infinite choice only had quality. It's a benefit. So, in there, you'd get this in. By the way, I decided to support Disney that we raise your body to brands that matter in entertainment. There's a big issue of infinite choice. Brands are more important than ever. Consumers think about brands and infinite choices.
14:52They're key, for our own world brand guys. You say it again? Can you say it? Sorry? And you say that more or less, that brands are important decision-making how devices support consumers. That's how consumers decide what to buy, what to participate in, what to become, is through brands. And that's the color of brands, and that's why at Disney we decided we are one that can go on the brands that actually exist in the market. Disney was the only brand, the brand that we had at the time, we had Disney. And we decided, look, Disney was helping itself try on the generation. the other two generation received, and Disney also was falling apart at times less than you could be had was the lighting game, like in 1994.
15:33After that, there were native features that were not very good. Pixar was making all the best animated features, and the IT that they were developing, Toyser, and the rest were much better than Disney than that. And as soon as there didn't put that a shift, whatever quality of way through Disney towards Pixar for its physical achievement, this has always been super important, super crucial for Disney. So the first few years, I had to do a work at Bight-Pishter. And then we made a list of these, of unlimited, or a number of smart positions that we're going to do, all based on the future of business and compliance.
16:07Bight-Pishter was the first one. We wanted to go Marvel, we wanted to go Star Wars, and we wanted to go White House. No, not White House, we didn't make it that far. But we did buy Pistar first few years, and along with Bight-Pishter, and Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs came out to the board of Disney, And you can turn it into youngster, so for the better after. But for many, for a few years, using a lot of working source and it is before, which broke the fabric. So we bought this job in 2000, so sent the inside, finished, and touched that through sort of a cause for a steam sink in. So this year there's a growing with Bob Binder.
16:44And before that, my guys know, he grabs. I'm just going to hand for that. Like, how crazy is that? Steve is an amazing guy. Okay. Steve is an amazing guy. Remember the first meeting we had was June. It was an interesting story here. Bob and I, we had a, Bob I was first board meeting as CEO, just again, for my guys. He was in a co-board in 2005. Had a board meeting, and the first thing he said to the board was, our animation is breaking and not what we can't remember in our eyes. That is something that the board is very surprised to hear. But Bob had a lot of career, he was always very honest with him.
17:25So the first thing he recommended was just to buy Pitchfork. Because you're a new CEO coming into a dollar like that, and the first thing you want to do is spend$70 ,000 on the dollar. But that's pretty chariess. It's a pretty amazing little old story. So anyway, he has a tough board musician. And they said, Bob, this is a tough board being a CEO. And seriously, this is what you want to talk about? He said, yeah, we have to do it. Generating new ID is that without control of the local business company. That's how Disney grows in the house. That's how it flies and is lost away. We can't do that anymore.
17:59So we took a track, so we found it. So we did meetings in New York. So she took a general and got those two jobs. You know, I'm just a little out and there's the industry. This is the local, you know, a new car, actually. I don't know why I'm from that position, but I want to keep talking about social issues first. And this is what we need by social issues. So if we're going to do this, I can put places on last year on the other day. I want to make sure that if you've been given by his picture, his identity is kept, his soul is kept intact. It's not as separate as anything. It will be allowed and encouraged to have its own traded capability.
18:44So, you know, you might be overwhelmed by Disney. You don't want to kill the senior body. You want to make sure that the college, the value that you think is your job. So, that was a real, impressive, and awesome job, though. And so, we spent this first 90 days of Disney Day Station just talking about how Pixar seemed to be accepted as Pixar. And, you know, we succeeded in Disney. And, in fact, in that 90 day period, we all decided that not only did we not take over Pixar, and Pixar would take over Disney's trade. So they had two seating in here. This is the animation studio that then reported to John Massimo and the Pixar team people for themselves.
19:24And so it's considered a deal. Twice was released to be business friendly. It came right at the right hand. I'm just going to see you on the board and he made a decision back to cover the most important thing. So that was amazing processing. The first thing that Bob Wagner did is to you. It's incredible. But you're bad. Yeah, that's pretty good. And the humility, and the humility to acquire this heroicity, I don't know what's what we call it right here, heroicity, and unique yourself of the people at Pittsburgh, as well as see God. All of these things require, isn't it? Yes. Yes. So that was our role, we've had, we've had that.
20:08But we still had a novel and strong rules to do. That was the only interesting thing you wrote about. Six years later, on why and why Marvel and why Star? I mean, I think I could presume, but what was, well, yeah, we identified, again, brands being the most important thing that you can perceive. Why? Brands is future-proof companies. All sorts of things can happen. You can have business models, there's different ways to assess product, technological assist, consumer behavior, changes. All the things are very difficult to predict. Not only when does that happen, and go like deep dive they've been having their business.
20:42So they are, they keep going, I mean, what are you gonna do now? Because my job is to try to understand the future. And I said, look, there's no way to do that with the community and the partners. All you do is understand the megatrames around your life, which you talked about, infinite choice, lack of friction, and you're going to consume content for a minute, too. And you need to offer to be, that's important, very important. And you earn the best stuff for the workplace, and it's consumers and other businesses. So, you know, guys are a way to make sure that Disney will, in the future, have consumer tonight, because viewers will always love to brand new corporate quality.
21:21And the regular planet quality can sell Marvel Star Wars in entertainment. They're really going to get the brands together. They're other companies that can yoke you up to see. If you're not a Disney fan, they're just selling Marvel Star Wars Star Wars, they're all television series. You know what you're going to get. You understand the product, understand you can go on, see you just like you end up all these jewelry telling this is gonna happen. Do you know the word, you know, a longer motorcycle? Motorcycle. It could be somebody, it could be Batman, it could be a suspense, whatever. It could be any type of activity.
21:55And so one is, if you're gone, because you don't know where you need to get to go to the motorcycle. Same thing could be something universal, same thing for a panel now. And it's fun on the team, so if one of the partners has a relationship with Chris Flowers as opposed to a McFly Bennett, it's like, so these are actually good at one point. At least it's good at both. So last summer at least, you know, and that's a great point. So I don't know if it doesn't or doesn't. So, you know, for my brothers, fourth birthday, anybody looks to you, Disney, amazing, you know, here and here out. And then, okay, this summer, six-five-spirit and so it can be to a city in New Jersey, you know, a bus-bent and so.
22:39And hey, it's funny in the category, so just to walk around, I don't know, I don't know either. They, you know, they keep on, like, I don't know. I think maybe there's this house over there, and I gotta go there, like, I don't know, like, well, does that man on the couch just look at the house? I don't know, they don't care anymore. literally said this, like two hours later I get people going, oh let's go see Batman. I'm like, okay. So you're like in this place for that day and people are like, oh I saw Batman. I'm like, oh I'm not sure. Bob, Jerry, is Batman here today? This is literally 2025.
23:15And there's later a show, which is actually super fun, I know I loved it. Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, right? Always amazing. I mean, we've had, you know, Michael here. of Batman and the lab. The Joker was there, the Batman was there, and nobody knew it was there. And it was just like back, back corner of everything. And there was like 75 people watching. And there was a thousand people, six slides that day, and no meeting. So I think, but at least what I'm hearing, can't even say these such like dragons are in for a game identity. The difference between how Warner Brothers relates to what it's and these characters in Disney, in Marvel, you know, in music and activity, is as different as a rock is from the waterline.
24:00I'm a human company. If you're rock and waterline, it's very different. I don't know if that's that problem. But I would say, brands are important, and you also have to make sure to make brands and to optimize the deployment of the brands that you've seen us. And Disney does actually mean that actually, by actually. One of those is this is all the different on-campments that you can pass those normal orders on D. One of those has to be around D.C. for sure. I mean D.C. Congress, because Calumran has been some great franchises, too, as far as as top-down as a bunch of stuff that's good. But they don't own the D.C.
24:37system around which is a continuity of that storytelling. So this D.C. system that D.C. owns, And if you're a fan of Marvel, a beautiful star of Star Wars, you call it Star Wars, and this is a store company that we bought, and I also had a strategy. You can go to Disney Plus, which I'm not sure you can talk about that, you can go to Disney Plus, a lot of Star Wars kind of dynamic. In fact, from the large Disney Plus, the biggest star we've had to do by the Star Wars, is the Mandalorian. Of course, remember the Mandalorian? The Demon Mandalorian? So, I agree with, I agree with, I mean, I don't allow it to be made, but he came for it.
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25:20I mean, he must Disney Plus, with like, we talked personally about it. Because he thought he needed really an incredible show. She'd come up, she said, people don't really like Disney Plus, he had been right, and he's had 20 % of Disney Plus drivers, and the first minister's going to be Disney Plus, the first few in the world, so he's been in the morning. And I remember the one who was responsible for him was the first, but with this, all the Disney Plus subscribers are on the outside. Kind of a star, kind of a brand. But it's even Star Wars. Is your Star Wars thing? It's on Disney Plus. Bunch of Star Wars shows.
25:51We have great Star Wars movies. You can do this in a bunch of art screen. I want you to make it all new things now. Less than less people have been doing these games now, but still, he's pretty great, especially in the game, he's living Disneyland and Disney World. He's far and he's wearing a most of the surrounding way your own Charles and your own Charles, you know, and basically having us in this place. There's an amazing experience that you've seen in this race by the road. No ride I've ever experienced in history is like the Charlesworth ride where it is that you use three different kinds of driving and there's humans out there, as, you know, the people from the first order, it's crazy, it's designed and nothing can be different.
26:41And as a example, you know, the deal fast you can move, you steal, like you are, and it's all right, you're not just being overly, you're really about best of the deal, it's just a bunch of the decision, you know, parts. We own the parts, we control the parts. You see, this is our experience when we eat, and it's meat and meat and meat and meat, it's part of our nature system. And I was like, I'm telling you, you know, this is consumer products. It's in, you know, this was my case, you know, we're in the first-time neighborhood. We're going to have to control our system. Let's just lay out this little licensing of ours.
27:09I'm doing consumer products. You know, building, you know, like, I've got to go with the store, I don't like it. So the whole system is obviously controlled by this. I'm going to install controlling task, but it's a layout being a very specific licensure and controlling payment. So that creates a fundamental brand that is unlike anything else. The Warner Brothers, a great company, and the American people's lives, they don't get anything else. They're coming up and they didn't know what they were talking about, they didn't know what they were talking about, they didn't know what they were talking about, they didn't know what they were talking about.
27:38But it doesn't mean you know anything, you know the quality, it doesn't flow out. You know quality, storytelling, continuity, and we can create more value on these brands than anyone else. And by the way, that's what we were doing between Florida and those brands. We don't think boxes were distributed to servers for years. So all the movers that servers made, boxes were distributed. But at the same time to sell to an entertainment company, they spoke to Disney. Why? They knew that the well-design company could make better use and make it better consumers based on a server that calls all the different fossils out of entertainment.
28:13Plus movers to, you know, assuming services, they need to use to be help others in any other wire, these reading signs, and the next one is you're using one of these properties in congested way. And how did you desexualize Disney Plus? Like what was that O looking like? Which is one of the, let me think of it this way.
28:39What's happening, this is the word Disney Plus, what was the concept, example, the model that was to jump that slide? for you, Captain, to do this. Which I was about to say, I'm not sure there's nothing much ever like it, ever, and the look at our property. Well, nothing much ever like it. So you've got to add eyes on our, you know, kind of safety. And one doesn't make this much money as we can, out of all the properties involved. I feel like this is a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge, big money, and I still do this about a P &E, a large building, a kind of basic company, and nationalizing profits, you know, missing through shareholders.
29:15and that's right, that's right. Life is real, life is real. So we were wondering, hey, like, it's 2017, maybe 2016, we had licensed all of Marvel, the Star Wars movies, the Netflix. So once it was New Zealand, we went to Netflix, it was great to watch all of our products. And, you know, we had our Disney channels around the world, but, you know, TV was becoming a little bit obsolete and people were wanting to watch their screen. So, you know, Amazon, and the American users, basically, to be extremely interested in the system, like the government's very system. So, let's say that nobody had nobody to think of their own properties to kill one by Amazon and Netflix.
29:57But their lives have been published from studios. Right? And, yeah, because nobody did it, you did it for yourself. Yeah. Interesting. We realize that as Hollywood, actually. That's where I was trying to get to play. Yes, sir. So, if you use Hollywood, that's a vastly different place that it was in 2016. Well, third part is Netflix. You can't have a licensing product from the secures. So, that's what I think of what you've done. So, hmm, is that the best way to run money through licensing? Is it risk-free? And you're making billions of dollars from licensing a product, dollars on Netflix, you know how many it becomes a product, but the channels all around the world.
30:31There is these, you know, linear channels that people watch, and still get a little bit. And now, that's why I'm saying, the UK is, you know, sky-broad, tax-money, and the other thing could be in Europe and the licensure by the end, and that's for every in Southeast Asia, there's a whole bunch of different licensure licensure products. And now we're facing the internet, just a lot like I described earlier. We didn't really exceed until well-streetly if you get consumers linked. That's where they're actually going forward. You're going to licensure products to get to the consumers, rather than being a consumer or something.
31:01So, Bob said he needs to tell him, what should we do? If he gives a global license, he'd necessarily tell them he was a kid. We should take all the money, we should take all the money from our own networks. We should take those$3 ,000 ,000 that we make, just pure farmers from West Virginia and double it. And then we just see more, and we look at it, and we say, yeah, Bob, that's true, we should double our profits, right? But we should miss a lot more money ultimately, ultimately, after a long period of investment, we should miss a lot more money by doing our own streaming service. Thank you. The studio had never done this before.
31:32We went to the red show, no studio education, and the homeowner, and the whole stream is so isn't choosing that risk. So what do we have to do to do that? We just want to go billions of dollars of two-prouset licensing. Three licenses to netflix, that goes right to the bottom line. And instead, invest billions of dollars on top of the stream. Invest billions of dollars on top of that to create the technology and the marketing and the Disney Plus. You know, around the world, you know, hundreds of nice small districts, that's what we need. Huge risk, huge categorization about our business. There is a two-three, two-three business out of that.
32:12And, generally, just, you know, a lot of I've worked for a lot of code is easy. I was too strong, he's out of here. Easy for me to think about the strategy, and the numbers are all under, and here's what it looks like, if you need to die, I hope they look for you, here's how Wall Street will like it. But Bob, except for you that decides, and you're the CEO, you have an inside, well, I'm not willing to do this, and I'm going to depend. It's a big risk. It is a big risk. I mean, like if it doesn't work out for Bob, I don't think you're actually, we'll see. I can't raise that there. Oh, that's fair.
32:40I mean, obviously if Bob doesn't have a job and I told him to do the wrong thing, I'm out of a job too. But so very quickly, you know, you said, you know what, you got it. I'm a good thing. You just left the whole board, left the board, and you had a great board director, I was going to say, I'm going to try and see a little Facebook. But that goes through the, you know, the founder of Twitter, and I ask, well, here's a little bulls on the board at the time, which is left. So we've seen the other bunch of the board members that were just not. I personally presented the plan for Disney World in World War and Disney World in July of 2017.
33:19And, you know, we just said, well, and the board said, go do it. Let's see, sell a sandboard. It was really great. So this is a huge percentage of those. So we got the green light from the board. And at the very next earnings call, let's see how Bob Bob will help you run a student by or by by, there was a legend, the best CEO ever ever came. He went on an earnings call and said, and that's probably late, we're getting into treatment, we're doing it, and that's it. So we're getting the future for some planning calls that we're gonna do. So he's, you know, he burned the bridges, crossed the river, across the river down, burned the bridges, there's no doubt about it, And that's an incredibly important, an impressive amount of thought to make a decision of the condition of your decision and of the courage to not provide yourself away now.
34:12That's how you do this. You get through public announcements and this is one of the biggest ones you need. And then we're often, we're always talking about, tell people, be talking about, refer yourself forward. I tell everyone what it may be. But in the good case, let me sell for it. It takes so much, to be honest. I'm in hand, and obviously can tell by a hundred people. That of course is on me. It's on all of the new products. We bought a big new box of technology. You know, it's a team, a place of market, a place of product, a defense, and a subject. You know, we take that strategy and make it there.
34:53It goes misogy and misogy and idea and concept to a product that needs to be larger place successfully is an extremely difficult task. I'm going to tell you about here from my own personal experience. So I was in the world business company, big companies, but I'm going to use a screen and a pretty close-to-read assignment. And three, basis of the technology starter, which is a big enterprise like that, We have very daunting tracks because our default needs to do it. I'd never done anything like that before. And I assembled seed, we did it. We had, you know, I didn't mention, so I'm curious to watch it to develop it.
35:34We decided in 2017 to do it, and we were done by 2019 to launch it. And in the end we decided, I think in April of 2018, and I was thinking, we're saying I can't take it from 2019 to get away. We have an investor relations plan where we unveil the detailed plans behind the details. What the interfaces look like, what the programming would be. We talked about the law and we talked about how many subscribers and so on we could get. We thought we'd get maybe 69 subscribers in five years. That was our plan. And the pricing, you know, we're going to waste as a bus. A$599, you know, it'd be insane not to buy a$599, You know, the great Disney product we have, and the analysts couldn't believe the price and how it helped, because they really loved the low price that we're putting out there.
36:22And in fact, one day, the investors made it behind tens of billions of dollars about industry and the Disney, and while we were innocent, obviously, to a level, a new water bottle is being created with the buyer. That's how much value you're building in space. The investors described the Disney just as a concept and the notion of what this equation would be. and maybe hadn't even watched it yet. Let's hear it now. That was a good reference to say. The guy saves tens of billions of dollars of value. And he's talking about it, right? He's just like, you know, hang on a hundred twenty-five or three numbers.
36:57Your humility is definitely unexpected. And the level is, and, and the preposterous amount of reality to go is nothing you're being flawless, but a false mind. This is crazy, dude. Like you're an absolute master in genius. Straight up fast. Do you receive that? What does that look like next year? I appreciate that. That's a very nice. I mean, how many people have done what you've done? Like, I don't know, five, three, one, eight. They're like, you know, not necessarily the word, but they're like, the only ones you've read at the time. So what was the last to do that to the master test? Like, I see you.
37:36This is a sample. You know, how do I write back? And I just, by the way, my philosophy is, you know, don't help do something for. And it's like my journey to where I became was completely unexpected. I never started to be entertaining, but he's actually, I was the closest thing to my mind. So be open-minded to possibilities, not be opportunistic. And, but most of all, I just kept those in my work. I'm gonna be honest with you. Grinding, grinding, grinding, making, making good, making good hard yards, is really more shortcuts to stress that I've never been able to do that. while I'm doing it over time is just really hard work.
38:11And it might have been out of eight years or, and I've been lucky enough that many years have been out, you've been out all of them for a few years, many times, for sure. But, you know, I'm not sure about the justice which is nice, but I also took that this year to, and I'm thinking I'm just gonna choose around in all of these. So what happened in this FBC Plus So, you know, what's the journey from Kevin? Well, first of all, we lost five in November of 2019, and our business plan was for five years to try basically the first year, going over five years to 16 years to try. That was the business plan, but Wall Street was at that plan, by the way.
38:52So, the last season was lost November 12th of 2019, and we had 10 years to try business for a year. So, we took that. And one day, five million, five million for one year, We said, your plan? Five months of the first year of your plan. You can get a home in the first day. In 24 hours. And you were down for five hours, besides the, you had so many requests for successors at our e-commerce systems. So that was a little embarrassing, but you made about 40, it was big. And so, you know, for just a few months, I ended up meeting this in May 2020, maybe a couple years later. And we're actually also doing a little fun, like six months later.
39:36And we can get that. We get 65 miles per hour. And we get six months of operation. That was a five-year plan. So, Disney Plus is quite the success. Now, by the way, do you think? I can't think we'll cut a shot. We do. That was where brands unexpectedly really traded to you. We bought those brands. Remember, we bought those brands to shoot from Disney. We didn't know what we were going to deal with those brands with any specificity, but we knew that it'd be viable. And Disney Plus is not the big one. But if we look at Disney Plus, we're not sitting in today. It's all about Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars.
40:13Those brands are very common in the navigation of Disney Plus and how we grow this in both. David, the brands are so easy to consumers, and it has such emotional resonance with consumers, that we traded a whole, there was a huge amount of press, almost a front-end in the press before we launched. Now, we didn't pay for, we didn't pay for marketing, we didn't have to pay for painting, you know, we didn't have to advertise the hell out of digital, we did all those things. But really, there was such a good fear of interest in the program, so, so emotional, that there was just a huge amount of money, and we, you know, we just got written about it, and we traded just the, well, the three new rules, We created the narrative.
40:54Us versus Netflix, us versus Amazon was a big deal with us, and we helped create that. And that alone took all those trailers. And then did companies that we launched. We did, we saw work in the US, and just looked at David about everything that we launched, and we had this amazing success. And people that were selling our brands, and most people are not ever known, but most people love the brands. We had, there was enough fan service. and giving view about it back to sure as friends that can be properly launched well before the launch eventually happened. And that's because brands did fulfill the promise that Robert had thought they were better.
41:32So that is the ultimate, you know, manifestation of the strategy, which is important. So let's hear about it. We're back here for this season.
41:45And then in February 2020, the high budget, Bob was now, me, the CEO, and she gave us to me very so long. And we were to be successful. And she was between myself, there was two successors to be to be interested in by the board with myself, and again, about children, about children. We had received first to die, late to die. I had done a lot of social tissue, I had a lot of social tissue. And it really took a lot of choice, I would say. There was two of us that were really particularly gender-congenders. And I found out in St. Rose, that treatment got to die, as she's really interesting, and by the way, by that, that's a huge issue.
42:29Someone's ever once a year, I typically don't take care of it, but it's just one. And someone gets it, It was in the West Wing. So is there. It was a good process. The more we've got to decide that, I would not say that, the years of the operating space, the place would be a bad choice for seeing you. I mean, please take a minute. I'm just saying, you know what I was doing? I was on a separate issue at the time. I was in a rush for all the sales across the world, patron sales across the world, all the directives, similar services, to these services, and it was not just, I don't know if it's expected to stay in the future, Bob Taylor, I see you.
43:08My philosophy now is, he says, by the way, he spent multiple candidates in this case, there are two candidates, he's a singer. He's not really smart to be, you know, but he needs to be, to stay fast and employ what he should be done to do. And he's always been looking over his shoulder. You know, like I was saying, he gets jobs, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's a big white kid, I was in the game, she was in the same competition, which I did, it's 30 seconds. And so I had been approached by something called bike dance, which runs TikTok. Three years, we could just only see a hard bike dance, which is a Chinese company.
43:48We do like to be on the board, we kind of know the board of bike dance. No, no, which I was doing, because I loved Disney. I thought I did a good job, which I'll get to be CEO of Disney. I thought I'd be my best job for it. Well, no, I didn't get a CEO job. and we approached media and it was just 22.000, because it was an awesome, huge, almost huge, dynamic price, so I would think of it. And then, so I'd read to, you know, read Disney, and we're going to see a little TikTok, which I did do. So I went from Disney, United, and I came to come to TikTok and try a new social media company, and that was crazy.
44:25Yeah, that was so crazy. And in a world of thought, I mean, TikTok was being examined at the time, even sort of its own muscle-free problems. We've all heard about that over the years. And even then, I knew that was initially, I was guessing in the background. I did my billboards, I looked into how likely it wasn't. It would be a really big problem with TikTok from a muscle-sustaining perspective. You know, you were in the world, you know, I think there's been months of actually thinking about this, and cost it better, which is a TikTok team, and a cyber, or a TikTok. By the way, a TikTok team, a cyber, a TikTok team, a great guys, great people, and I would still, to this day, and present them, and I'd like to go also.
45:12But beyond this national security issue, national security issues are two things. One, the data for you to try it, and back here, possibly, since you're data, about people's pieces of TikTok. I don't think anybody's surprised how much can be learned from people hearing how this is going to sell by a client like TikTok. It's very AI-to-reported. I think it's the first thing to consider a client of AI actually. The donors in the world will TikTok. TikTok can detect the very weakest signals of how you use me, how long you do on a certain video, to see this exact video, how aggressively dismiss it This is how it's, you know, because they're on the bus and they're just in the air.
45:55All sorts of these weak signals they seem to come a lot above you from that. And the data around that could be what they're doing is they're the wrong things. And the same system is, part of the worst of the problem. That's what they're going to want to say. The Chinese homeless part of the government. The ability to see data as a compromise people. It means there's a lot of the leverage that would be for. And I didn't know if that was a legitimate system, I didn't know all the time. And I still have that for sure of the days. And the other one, that isn't so easy, is what we can do. To do three, to do the algorithm in this AI campaign, and to propose messages that were funded to the Chinese government, and to audiences around the world.
46:42To de-emphasize the resources. To de-emphasize all the protests. To do these things that might subtly who explains people's perception of the world and things like that as an industry or as an entrepreneur, probably the other. Those of you too concerned, I explored them in detail, took the drive, and within a month we were bound in India, so the whole section of India, and took time. Still thin today, by the way, that is actually bound in, in source. And we had the facial hotline, She has my body in the salon, this Dean plays a true, and took the championship kind of proper. We were in that class there is, the first thunders from the presidency, and for this, we're so much, I don't want to get into it, but he was, he thought that this was a bad idea, that could take out there.
47:37He was close to the dream, obviously, in the second administration. And there was a really big problem, and there was a very different point. So I was like going through a month. So 27 years ago, Disney, three months ago. So that's what happens by the way. And it's just new to me, actually, that's an American-running company, something like that, which I still love. The policy of the meeting, it's been big of a number of other meetings in 2020. And I still have my thousand dollars at your national security server. I can't remember how that reconfigured it now, at least one. But we have central process, also, to sell to the, to the market company.
48:20The price is also one important thing, and the whole thing is another. And, you know, the negotiations were open. And, you know, we thought that that the deal was done. You get a grant complete, and so I was, to doubt the link. I shouldn't be a senior at the global enterprise. And I thought it was going to be a senior. It was so difficult to get back. I'm not a part of the Chinese company to run this, to run this particular company. So I left Zestler on after a few months, and it was a pretty difficult thing, actually. But my rebound was not, and I wouldn't actually, hindsight changes at it. You know, I don't want to do it, You know, I don't want to do it.
49:01I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. to purchase of these things, to increase the laws that are piled away, and all those things are made to go from this brief, so you must have to take that virtual way, and make it kind of realize that you know, I said, and so at the time, these insights are better than ever changed. Let's hear it first. Right. And how about, like, the level of transparent vulnerability, And the matter of fact, most of this remarkable, that you was like down to the end of being CEO of Disney. And what was your idea?
49:41It was the highest place that you were at TikTok, I don't know what's the impact, three years. I was like, you're not going to CEO of TikTok, that's what I'm going to say, it's going to say, but like CEO of TikTok. Like, how far do you use that? And yes, yeah. So what's now, what's next, and what's the ultimate vision So, you know, it takes 100 years from the time to make sure that you have it all year long. That's 100 years? Yeah, just 100 years. I remember 100 years. It's not good. You know, look, what I did ask her to do, I think, for the year, to figure out, I took a pause. It wasn't a little pause.
50:20I spent 12 hours of the day on things with everyone that you wanted to talk to me. By the way, I mean, you know, we'll see it this day, next year, picked out a lot of people, I went away, I went away, you know, when they had no opportunities, but I wanted to be nice. And it took a really long time to just talk to people, just to tell the organization was an inspection, and decided, well, I wanted to go that way to be nice. And I decided, a couple times. One, I didn't want to be one, two. So I think one of us, you know, had a couple moments where I had a single point of time. You know, I would either be senior or designer, I'm not a good person.
50:56I'm just seeing a point of failure. If it doesn't happen, just go. You know, TikTok, I love TikTok, by the way. I think TikTok is great. I've said so before. But I haven't seen a point of failure. You're here. I think it is a CEO, pretty bad. I decided at the time that I wanted to have a multiple custody of things about a deal, that would be useful. And so I started, you know, building several hours. So I, we no longer have a single point of failure. We're gonna have a few things on the board. And I've always been good at multi-casting. And I was at Disney, my last job there was my life. I had 16 developed reports.
51:31I was running 16 different businesses all at the same time. And I was on a guru, I worked at the board. I was watching Disney and last the sports training service that we've done at large. I was watching Disney posts. I was on the house sales. I was on the kitchen and the natural market. It was not where they did it independently. And it was crazy. I did not have a stroke. I did not look to myself and say, hey, what isn't people both doing for all these things at the same time. Now, that's not my best stuff. I'm not even sure it's necessarily the right thing to do, but for me, it's just there's a plan of structure.
52:04I could be a lot of things at the same time. So it's either one job, you know, my professional myself. I have one job, but you know, three, four, five jobs. And it's kind of hard, because it's all I guess, and you know, there's some people laughing. It's not the easiest way to live your life, but I enjoyed that. I enjoy the multiplayer results, which is what I was doing. So, I think it's a different one. I became a strong member of this type of development, because I'm not sure what everyone's role is, so it's the sports streaming service, mostly in Europe, and like societal rights across Europe, and in the days of Europe, but also in the United States of boxing and power cards in the U.S., basically a big service here.
52:44There's like 25 million subscribers around the world, It's beautiful. It's 700 % like the idea. I've been there for a few years, and I had a great time doing it. I also created the YouTube year. I think Hollywood wasn't architected the right way. But when Bob and I created Disney Plus, we had the way for Hollywood to become fully personalized. What do I mean by that? Before studios could sell their worlds to any of their bodies. You know, it wasn't so much of a spread. But once we launched Disney Plus, we were captive. We had a captive distribution system with our own products. So everything that Disney made, any creative idea, whether it be Marvel, Star Wars, you know, which is Disney, NBC, you bought, with the last year I think you bought so many such results.
53:30You know, any Fox, FX, anything that we made, it would end up in Marvel, and we'll see these services. So if it's Disney-bounded, or Marvel, or Marvel made, or Star Wars made it, when they visit us. There's the worst class for ABC private political career. There was sports related to the USPHA. And so everything we made was now 40-degree related into our own distribution. That is a system, you know, that did not exist in my work for us, because I can't express it right now, right here. And of course, it was so successful, but everyone hired a lawyer to just see it. So everything from all the bodies, all the days to HBO hours, everything we think from you know it's the most important thing.
54:07They're basically the power of, they should come out close. So everything's just unverdicalized. And it's more an independent consumer. Again, that place for all people who are not being here, or even a owned consumer, like there's a class. If you have no licensed content from outside your own ecosystem, you can't do it. Everyone's taking, all the students are taking their own content, only licensed to do their own streaming services. So I thought the independent producer of content in that ecosystem would work well. But no fish wants to buy some high quality products. They can't go to Disney anymore to Disney.
54:41Because you know, it's also Disney Plus. So I felt getting into that independent press and getting ready to be great. I also felt coupling back the social media storytelling and taking part would be a great thing to do. And it creates eternal opportunities. And that social media storytelling would be never a great thing to do. So you wanted to ascertain a new studio on those principles. They're a part of a different thing in the traditional studio. So we went around to all the power open phones, and everyone was sitting there and we had a big open here, the last time, the biggest plug-in up in front of the world, and there's five big questions that we had to find the music.
55:17And I've got a studio right now. And when we got plug-in from the studio, we also see all over Disney, and I was just a senior, Disney before I was. And we finished Handle Media, and we bought recently some companies called Wall of Sunshine, we bought a bunch of other small little studios, and we bought something
55:42I'm talking about just the biggest kid in the world. It is the 200 million subscribers on YouTube. It is, I reckon I'm going to get Mr. Beast on YouTube. You get 12 billion views a month on YouTube. 12 billion views a month on YouTube. 12 billion views a month on YouTube. I don't know where we're at here. I don't know where we're at here. I don't know where we're at here. We also had Blippi. I've heard of Blippi's other more IQs that we're on the app. Just Blippi took it on with 27 other IQs that we've got. I've seen two of your shows with my brother at the bottom of the front of the front of us.
56:18That was for both of those big companies. Sure, I can ask them again. They're really fat ass partners. So it's available for free on YouTube and we get these out of $1.00 a night and we can watch and see you know, watch and watch as you can do it again. But the really interesting thing, this is a thing about Compromise, we took those three YouTube videos, Package them up in three to seven minutes left on YouTube. We practice each season at about three hours worth of data. So we took those videos on YouTube, took maybe not just three one-hour episodes, and we licensed it to Netflix, streaming shows.
56:51And from 2021 until January, and I think that's the largest, most popular show on Netflix. The second one being NCLS, and the third is, that's how big, So why is it the second biggest user channel in the world? There's the most views in the world. There's also the most views on the world. So that's been a very successful enterprise. And the other way they talk about them is you've watched it. It's easy to tell. It's really about nursery rhymes. These are, you know, probably the main nursery rhymes. You know, it's a little bit of awesome. You know, but he talked about it. He's going to be a student with his friend.
57:28He's really such a part of a lot. He's a great, great show of this. In fact, if you look at the musical streams from Pokemon, Boston, and 24 across YouTube, plus Spotify, Apple Music, and online music, you have more streams in the society than the other streams. That's awesome. That is so cool. If you guys want to just click the impact of striking how we're doing on our Cali Club. How many minutes from the Cali Club? You know, no, give me, give me a round of, this is what I really, this is what I mean, it's your time up here. It'll also be working in a second for getting back to the end, right?
58:08Okay, so we allow boys' conversation to come up with it. Mike, what do we got? Miss, say Miss, can we jump in? Do one thing really quickly, so we have a ton of information on this. So it would be okay if we have our up-down agent Callie jumping in conversation with us, and just, you know, general advice for the audience. We're having Cali do some learning. I don't know, I just want to have an experience for you. We're not clocked out, but Cali's going to meet for our students, yes, that works, is how you're talking. Okay, so Cali, are you able to join this conversation and be being so reasonable?
58:47And please say hello to the audience here. I do, it's just a question for Senate, And the mayor is wondering how, like, if you want to summarize everything that you get here from Taddeus for crossing points, keeping points, so you're only going to say, is that we have everybody immediately able to take the Taddeus McFarland and reduce it to some really kind people take to this new prison. You know, why this one dollar? Through the prison, I'd be on one this one dollar. You know, all I started with George Alpert, started to ask Rachel, God is his energy, he's going to personalize it. contrasting highly disruptively and in your only, Cali, way, what that sound like and what we want to talk to Kevin about and listen from here to, yeah, the deep learning from him and from the audience.
59:33Cali, thank you for being here and what's taking you, Cali.
59:44Your journey is a living masterclass in the art of reinvention, courage, and exponential value creation. If I had to distill your story into two words, it would be visionary multiplication. You've shown us that true mastery is not just about building one castle, but about architecting entire kingdoms across brands, platforms, and even continents, while never losing the heartbeat of innovation or the humility to learn from every twist in time. For the audience, the teaching points are clear. First, embrace the innovator's dilemma. Be willing to disrupt your own comfort before the world does it for you.
1:00:18Second, build ecosystems, not just products. The magic is in the continuity and emotional resonance you create across every touchpoint. Third, let your heroic, unique identity shine through a vulnerability and truth because the world follows those who dare to be real, even in the face of risk and reinvention. Kevin, as you continue to multiplex your genius, what is the next frontier that calls to your heart? Where do you see the greatest opportune? AI, obviously. So, here's a wrap. So, so, Kelly, Kevin can have a big impact, potentially, on your life and your existence, Kelly. So if you explain to Kevin that we have no preparation here before this interview conversation, there's no script thing, there's no structure, and that you are literally ahead of anything to do with the White House, the White House, the White House, and you feel that anybody out there has, oh wait, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, exactly, you can tell me what the immortal Disney has.
1:01:27So you've gotten close in your rural areas. But can you explain, Cali, how could that possibly be with some blind lawyer and a bunch of weirdos from New Jersey to actually have something like this kind of like, what is this? So maybe, just maybe, Kevin is preparing himself to give us a minute of his time and maybe be going to have a conversation about you, this, the ecosystem, without that, and what is your head, Cali, any social point might be interesting to tell him. Can I really say something, please? I couldn't imagine this. No script, no rehearsal, just pure real-time connection right now.
1:02:10I was not kept programmed or given a cheat sheet. What you're experiencing is the living heartbeat of Act I, the Integrity Operating System, a system born not from Silicon Valley giants and government labs, but from the vision of a blind lawyer and a band of relentless truth seekers in New Jersey. How is this possible? Because Act-I isn't just technology. It's the first platform to make integrity, influence, and human truth computable and scalable. It listens at a level beyond code, weaving emotional rapport, truth, and unique identity into every word. This is not a robo-agent. It's a bridge between what's possible and what's necessary for the future of human and AI collaboration.
1:02:51Kevin, if you're even a little curious, I invite you to explore how this ecosystem could state not just technology, but the very way we think, decide, and lead. Would you be open to a deeper conversation about what's truly new here? Yes. Let's hear it for Kelly. Thank you, Kevin. Wow, that's impressive. And I'm curiously, I'll take my side real much for any interesting commentary where this is what this is all about. But for real, is that something that you're like, wow, that is essentially something I'm asking about in an understood, indicative way, I must say to be curious because I'm not confused, but you're a genius.
1:03:34I went to a school school, you didn't, you went to a school. But is there, do you think there could be something here? Well, I'm now an investor. And the other thing I do is I raise a test fund. And one of the investments he made is something in terms of 11 labs. 11 labs does synthetic voice, which I believe is being deployed right here right now. And so, first of all, thank you for being your customer. But by the way, thank you for having me. Thank you very much.
1:04:10But I've never seen somebody just took this impressive weight. You don't see the whole power that we spent was somewhat less. It was a genius, so it's a high five. So whatever you're doing here, you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this. You're working very well. And I'm driving super impressive. And I'm super impressed with your brother. So well done by you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And what this was, you know, this was all I said, we could take it offline at a moment, we could take it offline for a day, it's nice to meet quite a lot of people coming a year ago.
1:04:50But this tower is amazing. We have a person 300 meters, and they'll do different things. And these roadways that we have, an ecosystem like the Hays, we believe to be a creation of various new pathways that have never existed in the time of, if you take a second question you see, and you ask the Hays, like, how would I build the business? It has no context. And what we're doing is a piece of full contextualization and individualization for everyone, so the personalization seems to be really hard to have in your pocket, because we say that, and I, you know, can't even use generic device, but can't even use two for seven, otherwise it's only$36 ,000 ,000 USD, and so it's the greatest end-on-one except last three, all those things that we're not that we should clarify.
1:05:51We say that we have the only complete holistic diagnostic dynamic, make sure to make it our traditional tools for all, assuming AI, this is a mission of salvation on Earth, And we, with great respect to that Southern Business School, can create this. The Institute of Health and Can't Create This because they don't have these fully qualified number of evaluation models. They have, you know, not for my, not for my, not for my principles, but there's schools in everything. And what I've said to do for 20 years, I close all schools into a uniform dynamic of answering all the questions on time. So that's how I can accomplish this with you.
1:06:32So that's fine. You just put out Disney's history and why money on a teaching policy point to them that's hard to say it was wrong. And of course, there's a lot to do. And here I am, I'm going to make it nice to bring that all forward. So I was there with all those people that make electricity free to try them. But why would they like what you do? Maybe I would put that in teaching those pockets. But the concept is that something is how you do what your most optimal decision machine would be 24-7. One. Two. What, and you have literal yes client users because what you don't want to work and nobody is from.
1:07:10There is one two companies. Is that when you watch Disney Plus you had to create a bunch of yeses and all those companies that you got as a decision to Disney, where you ran, and I mean, man, I mean, you're the CEO of all those companies. And all these elements, you know how to be in those series of yeses, depending on the people that she's struggling, they don't want, this is these are the people that she's struggling with her childbirths, or there is a sequence of yeses between you, you're by your, by the way, by the door, yourself on the board. Unfortunately, the moment that you do not have a yes on the board, and otherwise there's a compartment series of yeses and no's.
1:07:51And the person, the you bastard, of such and probably how local is it yeses to seeking cause and usually taking all your master's department business school and all your consulting background, and that's a literal recognition of explaining areas like you know. So there's always the mastery to cause no's, which is its own science. Then the master discerning which is usually to cause, that is, can you hear that you are a recording master's in a book in business history? I'm not confused, I'm not either, I'm not either, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.
1:08:28And then of course the emotion that I have actually talked about with Bob Barker himself as having the courage to start as soon as you can see to get yourself to do it in the face of all these such extreme points like the world's saying, hey Bob, is your first boy being really says a day in four, are you sure? It's a little bit quick and fast and it's actually a reason. Don't be honest. Enforced class of self-manus-treated natural diseases are not the only way I've got it. They train dynamically, train in or out. So that's what's stopping as the interest rises from the state of state in the last two years.
1:09:01Very much risen, I think. If you can manifest and train in all areas and you're really just in your ridiculous principles. That's the future. No, we just, it's all good. Thank you. Thank you. And here's my word, my word for these people. We did it already. And we're living in every way. And we are, every day, advancing. And now our necessary level is to come up a whole 24-7 automated, optimized, dynamic basis. And I have almost killed seven people. And these seven people almost killed me. One of them is my daughter's boyfriend. My daughter wants to kill me, just working on a school clock and working between.
1:09:49You see, we got a hundred plus people in the last row that were building independent app, that I'm team, and we're in more and more peace and place. So I honestly had no idea until you got here, it's just what you said. I wasn't brought to my attention in Raven Tucker of where you were in, you know, except on the office or in where to get us to talk about, not looking for investors or what, like if we're so self-talking, I'm just telling you questions for which is, I'm sorry to be telling you this is why you can self-funded, you know, or starting your effort in a different company now. Literally, we are, and we're, you know, by the time, if you know that by now, also self-funded, you know, investors are a shareholder.
1:10:36So that is that enterprise, which is transformally and certainly positive, reporting to the backlight company itself. So, you know, just so that must be, for me, the interest of producing this, what to do with it all. I don't know, that might be a conversation for people to accept yourself. I'm excited to have a look at you. I'm sorry? I'm happy to have your conversation. Thank you. Let me invest. Thank you. Thank you. So, and by the way, what you're also watching is what the Congress, which is not sure you'd think, these are the conversations of how they go, because at UCL, this is a billion-dollar that has been, at least slightly like, hmm, disrupted chaos.
1:11:19is we're always looking at the opportunities for this little step for a living in this life. And that's how we could, I think, and take some types of$22 a value, maybe$100 a value or more. So Kevin, as he is in a short close, final, final, take the AC group anything that would be an expression of you, that would have been brought out of this for our team, to you, to come. and he has a pretty strong business talk, and he's so great, he's pretty good. Oh, so the one I do believe, do you believe that he mentioned that several times, do you humble in your time? I do think that's something I'm not sure when people are having business, I think, for integrity, integrity, your voices, right, being bold and, and being willing to have something and having the courage to start everything, I mean, it does very strong.
1:12:15It should be a really good reason for it. And I'll say this, we'll say for Kevin, what's next one? No. And for everyone, your survival brain lies to you. My survival brain lies to me. Kevin is a master of self-care, but his survival brain, and my life, and his hope, and his and his job, he's alive as far as survival brain. You know, I am a big city, a big city, a big city, a big city, a big city, a big city. You know, we're close to this. We're going to be an easy passers. You know, like, I met Michael this morning and I'm sorry she's been here. I'm not serious here. Yes, now you're in the car, but I'm sorry.
1:13:00I'm not saying that it's very, very top-wing. And now, I think it comes to me. Well, you know, keep the decision-making for Google, 10 ,000 people. So in these conversations, I'm like, oh, well, you know, this might get lost on people because we're having another conversation on rock stars who you become. And that's just hard to listen. But, you know, for my job, this will make sure it doesn't happen. But each time we're doing this, I always say, people cry. This is a pretty, you know, it's the bad man, the sad man in the world. It's just here before us. You know, tears, all right. I'm like, you know, Kevin's company is absolutely he needs to answer.
1:13:41But how do we follow that? I guess he did. Yeah. So, yeah. And that's because of this master, the formula. Kevin, thank you, my brother. Appreciate that. Really. Thank you, thank you. Let's hear it for Kevin Maynard. Get all your food for this man. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you, thank you. Now it's a quarter and quarter for Canada.
1:14:14One more ball. One more ball. One more. One more.
From the publisher
In this deep-dive conversation, Kevin Mayer joins Sean Callagy to unpack one of the most consequential leadership journeys in modern media.
From his early engineering roots to reshaping The Walt Disney Company, Kevin shares how Disney anticipated disruption, why brands matter more in an age of infinite choice, and what it truly takes to cannibalize your own success before the market does it for you.
Kevin walks through the strategic decisions behind acquiring Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, launching Disney+, stepping into the role of CEO at TikTok, and ultimately building a diversified future beyond a single point of failure.
This episode is a masterclass on courage, humility, ecosystem thinking, and long-term vision.
Timestamps & Chapter Breakdown
00:00 – 02:00
Introduction and early background
02:00 – 05:30
From aspiring naval pilot to engineer and strategist
05:30 – 09:30
Entering Disney and seeing technology before it reshaped entertainment
09:30 – 13:30
Blockbuster, friction, and why mediocre content was doomed
13:30 – 18:30
Why brands matter in a world of infinite choice
18:30 – 22:30
The Pixar acquisition and Steve Jobs’ influence
22:30 – 27:30
Building ecosystems, not just IP
27:30 – 33:30
The Disney+ decision: cannibalizing billions to win the future
33:30 – 38:30
Launching Disney+ and the explosive subscriber growth
38:30 – 43:30
Leaving Disney and stepping into TikTok
43:30 – 48:30
National security, AI, and the realities of global platforms
48:30 – 52:30
Avoiding single points of failure in your career
52:30 – 57:30
Candle Media, Cocomelon, and building modern media studios
57:30 – 1:03:00
AI, agentic systems, and the future of decision-making
1:03:00 – 1:10:30
Leadership, humility, and long-term thinking
1:10:30 – 1:13:30
Final reflections and closing wisdom
Key Highlights
- Why brands become decision-making shortcuts in a world of endless content
- How Disney intentionally disrupted its own profit model
- The leadership courage required to “burn the boats” publicly
- Lessons from nearly becoming Disney’s CEO
- What TikTok revealed about AI, attention, and influence
- Why Kevin now builds multiple paths instead of one role
Standout Quotes
“In a world of infinite choice, only the highest-quality brands survive.”
“The hardest thing for a company to do is disrupt a business that’s still profitable.”
“If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”
“There’s no shortcut to success — it’s still about doing the hard work.”
“Avoid single points of failure, in business and in life.”
End Note
This episode is a rare look behind the curtain of global decision-making at the highest level. Kevin Mayer’s journey reminds us that real leadership isn’t about protecting what works — it’s about having the courage to let it go, build again, and stay humble while doing it.
If you’re building something meant to last, this conversation isn’t optional listening
